Prêt-à-porter Technology

On September 28, 2020, four-time Women’s World Chess Champion and Rhodes Scholar 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) brought all her grace and charm as she performed the launching ceremony of the inaugural “机器人谷杯” (“Robot Valley Cup”) China City Chess League which took place at Tuspark International Convention Centre in 北京 (Běijīng), China. In her speech, she said that, thanks to technology, “the newly born trophy will fulfill all safety and health requirements, by combining online and offline modes, so as to involve as many participants as possible”. The 1st “机器人谷杯” (“Robot Valley Cup”) China City Chess League — in which 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) shall defend the colours of the 济南银丰 (Jǐnán Yínfēng) team — will officially kick off on October 16 and will last until January 2021, featuring 14 seeded teams and over 50 audition teams. The format consists of five tiers of qualifiers, preliminaries, semifinals, repêchage matches and finals. Qualifiers, preliminaries and semifinals will be held online at 智赛网 (zhisai.net), while repêchage matches and finals will take place offline. In the hope to enhance the spectacularness of the show, the organisers opted for rapid time controls. It should be noted, finally, that 侯逸凡 (Hóu Yìfán) “went thro” the ceremony with the same outfit that she wore when she attended the gala party ceremony for the World Chess Championship at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, United Kingdom on November 8, 2018. Photos: liz.